4th of July Weekend

Another eventful weekend for the girls... We have been staying very busy, mostly with swimming and shuffling these girls from place to place. I'm about to start teaching my summer class, so I've been doing some of my planning for that. I am looking forward to teaching, summers are kindof a different feel. Hopefully my class will be involved in the learning process and we'll have a very positive experience.

The 4th weekend was a lot of fun. We were sad because MeeMaw Geni was not with us. Grandma Shirley (Geni's mom) who lives in Iowa, had to have en emergency back surgery. Yikes! So Geni went to be with her and make sure she began recovery well...so we began with a picnic and Aunt Pam and Uncle Dale's. They had it all hooked up! With a 50 foot long slip n slide! The big kids played for like two hours and then the little kids got a smaller version later on. The girls were hilarious. Not to mention that I think it is so funny to see people slip around and fall down! Not as much as my friend Kele of course, who laughs hysterically when someone falls or throws up while running 5 miles....

But anyway, they were a little slow to warm up and of course we had to make Maddie be the one to be an example. No one was hurt!

We had some dinner. I made a weight watchers apple slaw that took me at least an hour of slicing and dicing. I need some kind of machine or tool to do that from now on, but it was good. Only one point per serving. I also made a fruit pizza...a few more points per serving, but people love those. I made sure to leave it and not take any leftovers home. After dinner, the fireworks began. The little ones had sparklers...and papa Bruce....well, let's say...no, say nothing...those fireworks were huge!@!!@!

It was so cool. I tried to do a few camera tricks to see what kinds of pictures I could get. We had s'mores afterward and of course my girls loved that, they are chocolate-hounds!The next day, we went for another cookout and swim. Geni's friend has a pool and it was a perfect day for swimming all day long. This was Maddie's first time to dive off of a diving board ever!

Pretty good, then John goes for some of his fancy moves. He loves to flip...This is neat...then Maddie thinks she can go ahead and go for that...However, you can see how close her back is to the water...she does not have time to flip much further. You might say, it did not go over well. She thought she had died when she hit, smack on her back. Of course, I had a little of my nervous laughter from seeing such a sight, she did not like that either. But she recovered, only to try it again later and do the same exact thing!
Here's Sue, she has not been much for getting all the way into the water lately. She just wants to run around, get on the steps, and not get her face in. We'll give her some time!

Summer Vacation to Houston

Our summer vacation was a success despite the amount of driving. Three young children in a minivan are quite a challenge but lots of music and movies helped, along with frequent stops. Houston is quite a ways so we stopped at our aunt and uncle's house in the middle and spent one night each way. It was so nice because they prepared an air conditioned room for us and cook breakfast for us. It was nice to get to visit with them mostly. As we approached my mother's new home, this is what we drove up to... Of course, we had to deal with some upset tummies and slight fevers on our trip. The girls have been battling a virus that seems to come and go and have many different symptoms. So on our first day in Houston, we took our time getting ready and let the girls rest before we started going out. We went to a place called Panda Bear for lunch. Hannah was certain it was the same place that Kung Fu Panda would be at, so they were thrilled to be there...It was good Chinese food, John would love to have one of these at home. As you can see, Hannah also prepared her own table with her blanket. She loves to make special spots for herself and no one is allowed to mess them up.
Our first excursion was the Houston Children's Museum. It was a bit of a challenge driving through the city but I had called before we left and asked for specific directions which were perfect. We are not used to driving in such traffic and having so many highways to get lost on...
They loved the museum. Every exhibit was interactive. Our girls tend to be very fast when going through museums, like they are looking for the one thing that will actually capture their attention. Then they don't understand why it's over so soon...so, of course they started out this way in this museum. However, John and I quickly noticed that it is not that big of a museum so it is important to slow down and experience each area to it's fullest. So we put on the breaks a little and helped them really look at what was in front of them.
They loves this pulley system, where you sit on a seat and pull yourself up (or your parents do it). Maddie kept going like 5 times before she had had enough.
Then they found the mother load of all experiences...painting yourself! This is not a new experience for them, as they do this at home on almost a daily basis. Ella is the worst with drawing on herself every time she finds a pen. But the other girls are getting more into hearts and rainbows. Very nice.John painted faces first, then you can see they had the opportunity to go free..The next morning, we went to the Houston Zoo with my mother while John and Greg (my mom's new boyfriend) played golf. That made John happy. But the zoo was fun...hot...really hot and it is humid in Houston, very different than what we are used to.
Instead of feeding the goats, the children brush them...I think this is a great idea. They had a blast going around and brushing every goat. We found one goat hiding out under a bench who was actually smiling. He was probably pleased to get away from the mounds of children trying to brush him!

We made it to the beach at Galveston on Saturday evening. We really did not have a whole day to go and spend at the beach so it was actually perfect to head out when the sun was going down. The wind was blowing so hard that it sprayed salt water all over us and the waves were huge compared to what they are normally. Nonetheless, the water was warm and it felt so good to be out there.This was Hannah and Ella's first time to see the ocean and the beach so that is really special. At first they were a little overwhelmed with the water and the wind but after a few minutes they were running around and looking for seashells. They could have played for hours.

This is our last morning, we left around noon. Nana Nancy made everyone blueberry pancakes and the girls ran around like crazy while we packed. It had been great because we had a room that had a bathroom attached and a little vanity between us, just like in hotels, so we were super comfortable.
In the last leg of our journey, the girls got a hold of some make up and this was the final product. I was a little worried about the white on Hannah's lips...but we got it off quickly. These girls love make-up.